LESLIE: Barbara in Lincoln, Nebraska’s up next. And you’ve got a painting question. What can we do for you?
BARBARA: My daughter purchased a house and it has a varnished woodwork and stained.
TOM: OK.
BARBARA: And it has been painted … I mean everything’s been painted and it’s been stained and people haven’t washed it off. And how can you repair this to get paint to stick and not chip off?
TOM: OK, so you don’t want it to be varnished; you want it to be painted.
BARBARA: It needs to be painted. It’s in just bad enough shape it needs to be painted.
TOM: And is any of the existing material peeling off or is it fairly intact?
BARBARA: It’s intact.
TOM: Alright, well that’s good. So what you’re going to want to do is you’re going to want to sand it. And you’re going to use a medium grit sandpaper – like about 100 grit – and you’re going to cut through some of that surface to give you a fresh place to start. And then what I’m going to recommend you do is use a primer. Because a primer is a great material because it gives you a neutral surface. It’s designed to stick. The primers are designed to stick. The topcoats are designed to give you the color. But it’s hard to get a paint that has both of those characteristics in one because of the way the chemicals are put together. So you want to use a primer on the surface first and then use a topcoat of paint.
BARBARA: OK.
TOM: And that’s definitely going to make it stick this time.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. And it’ll brighten everything up and make it look really nice. And the sanding that you’ll do will rejuvenate any of the detail work that’s in that molding or trim that you have in that house already.
TOM: Painting is the fastest way to get that room opened right up again.
Barbara, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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